Methods and apparatus to provide assistance data for satellite navigation in a wireless communication device are disclosed. Processing circuitry in the wireless communication device determines whether to obtain assistance data for navigation based on a set of criteria. The set of criteria include one or more of a property of a geographic region in which the wireless communication device operates, a satellite signal quality estimate measured by the wireless communication device, and a user setting of the wireless communication device. When the set of criteria indicates that assistance data for navigation is beneficial for satellite navigation in the wireless communication device, the processing circuitry obtains one or more sets of assistance data. The processing circuitry configures operation of the wireless communication device for navigation based at least in part on the one or more sets of assistance data obtained.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A wireless communication device, comprising: a global positioning system (GPS) module configured to receive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals and to determine a GPS position of the wireless communication device based at least in part on received GNSS signals; and processing circuitry coupled to the GPS module, the processing circuitry configured to control the wireless communication device to at least: obtain an altitude difference model for a region in which the wireless communication device operates; obtain a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point density model for the region; determine a geographic type for the region based at least in part on a comparison of the altitude difference model to an altitude threshold and a comparison of the WLAN access point density model to a density threshold; and obtain GPS assistance data when the geographic type for the region in which the wireless communication device operates is determined to be a dense urban region.
2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the wireless communication device to: alter a duty cycle of operation of the GPS module when the wireless communication device operates in the dense urban region.
3. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the wireless communication device to: obtain a bare-earth altitude model for the region in which the wireless communication device operates; obtain a first-return altitude model for the region in which the wireless communication device operates; and calculate the altitude difference model for the region in which the wireless communication device operates based at least in part on the bare-earth altitude model and the first-return altitude model.
4. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry of the wireless communication device obtains the WLAN access point density model by measuring a number of available WLAN access points in the region in which the wireless communication device operates during a time period.
5. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry of the wireless communication device obtains the WLAN access point density model by retrieving information from local storage in the wireless communication device or from a remote server through a cellular wireless network.
6. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the wireless communication device to: obtain sensor information from one or more sensors in the wireless communication device; determine additional GPS assistance data based at least in part on the sensor information; and provide the additional GPS assistance data to the GPS module.
7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the wireless communication device to obtain GPS assistance data when the wireless communication device operates in the dense urban region by downloading GPS assistance information for the region in which the wireless communication device operates from an external wireless network.
8. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the geographic type for the region in which the wireless communication device operates by classifying the region as one of: dense urban, open suburban, dense rural, or open rural.
9. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein the geographic type for the region in which the wireless communication device operates is classified as dense urban when the altitude difference model indicates an altitude difference in the region exceeds the altitude threshold and the WLAN access point density model indicates the WLAN access point density in the region exceeds the density threshold.
10. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein the geographic type of the region in which the wireless communication device operates is classified as open rural when the altitude difference model indicates an altitude difference in the region falls below the altitude threshold and the WLAN access point density model indicates the WLAN access point density in the region falls below the density threshold.
11. A method to provide assistance data to a satellite navigation system in a wireless communication device, the method comprising: determining a geographic type for a region in which the wireless communication device is located based at least in part on a comparison of an altitude difference model for the region to an altitude threshold and a comparison of a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point density model for the region to a density threshold; determining whether to obtain assistance data for navigation by the wireless communication device based on the geographic type for the region and on a set of criteria including one or more of: a satellite signal quality estimate measured by the wireless communication device or a user setting of the wireless communication device; when the geographic type for the region and the set of criteria indicates a requirement for assistance data for navigation, obtaining one or more sets of assistance data; and configuring operation of the wireless communication device for navigation by the satellite navigation system based at least in part on the one or more sets of assistance data.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: obtaining an initial set of geographic data for the region in which the wireless communication device is located, the initial set of geographic data indicating whether detailed geographic data for the region is available; and wherein determining whether to obtain assistance data for navigation comprises determining whether detailed geographic data for the region is available.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detailed geographic data for the region includes a characterization of geographic properties of the region as one or more of: open rural, dense rural, dense urban, or open suburban.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the region is characterized as a dense urban region, and wherein configuring operation of the wireless communication device for navigation comprises one or more of: downloading GPS assistance information for the region; providing GPS assistance information to a GPS module; enabling one or more sensors to assist in navigation; setting a duty cycle of the GPS module to operate more frequently, or setting a map alignment threshold to a wider geographic area.
15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: obtaining a bare-earth altitude model for the region in which the wireless communication device is located; obtaining a first-return altitude model for the region in which the wireless communication device is located; and calculating the altitude difference model for the region in which the wireless communication device is located based at least in part on the bare-earth altitude model and the first-return altitude model.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the WLAN access point density model is based on a measured density of WLAN access points in the region.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the geographic type for the region comprises a dense urban region when the measured density of WLAN access points in the region exceeds the density threshold for a time period exceeding a time threshold.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the geographic type for the region comprises a dense urban region when the altitude difference model indicates an altitude difference in the region exceeds the altitude threshold.
19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor in a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: determine a geographic type for a region in which the wireless communication device is located based at least in part on a comparison of an altitude difference model for the region to an altitude threshold and a comparison of a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point density model for the region to a density threshold; obtain an initial set of geographic data for a region in which the wireless communication device operates; determine from the initial set of geographic data for the region whether additional detailed geographic data for the region is available; obtain the detailed geographic data for the region when available and the wireless communication device operates in a dense urban region; and provide at least a portion of the detailed geographic data for the region to a global positioning system (GPS) module in the wireless communication device to assist with navigation by the wireless communication device.
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August 30, 2013
January 3, 2017
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